


My Favorite Song

by MCRmyGeneral



Category: All Time Low
Genre: F/M, Marriage Proposal, Rian and Cassdee are just way too adorable, Song Lyrics, Started as a headcanon, kind of a song fic, remembering sunday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-16 23:30:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4644135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MCRmyGeneral/pseuds/MCRmyGeneral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rian enlists the help of Alex and their setlist to pop the question to Cassadee.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Favorite Song

"Are you _sure_ about this?" Alex asked for the seventh time that day.

Rian didn't answer. Instead, he just sucked in a deep breath and stared off into oblivion.

"Rian!"

"What?" Rian asked, finally snapping back into himself and rubbing his sweaty palms together.

"Are you 100% certain that you want to do this?"

Rian's stomach churned, but he nodded. "Yeah," He breathed, sounding just as uncertain as he looked. He nodded tensely. "Yeah, I'm sure. It's time to do it, right?"

Alex said nothing.

"Damn it, Alex, tell your eyebrows to keep their thoughts to themselves!" Rian scolded, before he took to pacing the length of the Green Room.

"What did I do?" Alex asked, bewildered.

"You raised an eyebrow, and I can just _tell_ ," Rian sneered.

"Tell what?"

"That you think this is a bad idea."

"Hey, hey, hey," Alex reasoned, raising his hands defensively, "I never said it was a bad idea. I simply told you to be prepared for all possible outcomes."

That stopped Rian mid-step, and he went back to looking extremely worried, his forehead wrinkling with anxiety. Alex thought he looked a little green.

"That's it!" He said suddenly, throwing his arms up in defeat, "I'm not doing it!"

"Rian-"

"Nope! I'm not doing it."

Alex sighed and walked over to Rian, setting his hands on his drummer's shoulders. "Rian, listen to me. It's okay to be nervous. Hell, you saw how long it took me! But you can't live in fear of this forever. If you don't take the chance, you'll never reap the benefits. You went from a pudgy drummer in the high school marching band to a badass, record-selling, money-making, inspirational musician in a moderately successful," Alex joked with a smile, "Rock band with certified singles and an album on the Billboard charts. You've got great friends, an amazing woman, and a family of awesome Hustlers standing behind you supporting every decision you make. You are Rian fucking Dawson. You got this."

Rian smiled sheepishly and blew out a timid breath. "Thanks, Alex."

Zack popped his head into the room. "Curtain's up in two, guys."

"Thanks, dude," Alex called to him as he walked away, bass in hand.

"Now for the last time... Rian, are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Rian took another deep breath and sighed. "Yeah," He said with a smile. "I'm ready."

"I'm proud of you, bro," Alex said with a soft grin, pulling Rian to him and hugging him quickly but fiercely.

"Let's go," He said when they separated.

"Yeah," Rian agreed, grabbing his drumsticks and following Alex out the door and toward the screaming crowd.

 

########

 

The show was one of the most amazing shows they'd ever played, and Rian wasn't sure if it was because the crowd was just fantastic, or if everyone was picking up his vibe, but either way, he was blown away.

He hit his drums harder than he ever had before, neding an outlet for his abundance of nervous energy. He shattered his record of most drumsticks broken, and by the time Danny brought Alex out his acoustic guitar, he had already amassed a whole pile of splintered and cracked sticks to throw to the kids when the show was over. He was actually worried about having enough left to finish.

A single spotlight focused on Alex, and the rest of the stage lights dimmed. That was the boys' cue to am-scray while Alex played Remembering Sunday and Therapy.

Rian hopped off the riser his kit was on and walked to the sidestage, where a beautiful smile was waiting for him.

"You're killing it tonight, babe," Cassadee gushed, wrapping her arms around Rian's waist and kissing him.

"Don't," Rian protested, trying to pry her arms away, "I'm sweaty and gross."

"I don't care," She argued with a smile and kissed him again. Rian kissed her back eagerly. They'd both been on tour for months, sometimes separated by entire oceans, or mulitple continents. Their only interactions the past few months were through tweets, texts and carefully scheduled FaceTime dates. Rian was giddy over the fact that Cassadee was here in flesh, and that he could finally kiss her, hug her, touch her. Blowing kisses to his iPhone screen wasn't the same.

"I'm glad you're here," Rian whispered, hugging Cassadee back and kissing her forehead.

"I am, too."

"Get a room!" Jack called over his shoulder as he walked past the couple.

"He's just jealous that my girlfriend is more than five fingers and a palm," Rian said loudly, and the whole crew broke out in chuckles.

"Hey," Jack said, holding up his right hand, "This is the best girlfriend I've ever had. She's never used a headache to get out of sex and she doesn't talk!"

Everyone laughed at Jack's joke, until Cassadee smacked Rian's chest.

"Sorry," Rian apologized halfheartedly, still snickering.

Cassadee rolled her eyes and scoffed, but she rested her head against Rian's chest, and he set his cheek on the top of her head.

"This song is called Remembering Sunday. Sing along if you know the words," Alex instructed the crowd, who roared in response as he strummed the first few chords.

" _He woke up from dreamin' and put on his shoes. Started makin' his way past two in the morning,_ " A thousand voices sang in harmony. But all Rian could focus on was the soft voice whispering along against his chest.

" _He hasn't been sober for days,_ " Cassadee sang along, almost silently. If she hadn't been pressed up against his chest, Rian never would've heard her. But as it was, her words seemed to flow _through_ him, soaking through his shirt and sinking into his skin. Cassadee smiled when she saw the bumps raise on Rian's bare arms. She rubbed them away.

"Those wouldn't be from me, would they?" She smirked.

"Always," Rian admitted, tilting her face up to meet his lips again. "You know," He said when they parted, "I think this is my favorite song of ours."

"Oh?" Cassadee asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rian shrugged. "I don't know why. I just really like it."

Cassadee smiled, her eyes glittering as she looked up at Rian.

He sighed contently. "I'm really happy that you're here, Cass," Rian said softly, his arms snaking around her waist.

"Me, too. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

Rian nodded. "It's been too long," He admitted sadly.

Cassadee frowned. "I know, babe. It sucks, but we'll make it through. We always do," She added with a smile.

"Yeah, we do. Doesn't make it suck any less when we're apart, though."

"Hey, we knew this was gonna be hard. But I'm not giving up my dream and I would never let you compromise yours. We've made it work for this long. We're stronger than we think we are."

Rian kissed her forehead. He was amazed by how relaxed he felt in her arms, how the anxiety dissapated the second she touched him.

" _They're filling his, **filling hiiiiiiiss**_!" Alex sang with intensity, and Cassadee smiled.

"Everyone's on it tonight. You guys never disappoint, but it seems like tonight, you're all perfect."

"It's all for you," Rian joked, and Cassadee grinned.

Rian squeezed her a little more tightly, nuzzling his nose into her hair and breathing deeply. She smelled amazing, like Jasmine and Honeysuckle.

"I love you, Cassadee," Rian all-but whispered.

Cassadee squeezed him back. "I love you, too."

The two sat in silence for a moment, listening to Alex finish his verse, waiting for Cassadee's cue.

When she finally took her arms from Rian's waist and stepped away, Rian almost ached. Having Cassadee in his arms was a feeling so wonderful, matched only by the feeling of thousands of his fans screaming. They were his two favorite things in the world.

" _The neighbors said she moved away. Funny how it rained all day! I didn't think much of it then, but it's starting to all make sense_."

Cassadee gave Rian one final kiss before walking onstage, into the lights. Alex was momentarily drowned out by the crowd screaming.

" _Oh, I can see now that all of these clouds are following me in my desperate endeavor to find my whoever, wherever she may be_!"

" _I'm not coming back. I've done something so terrible_ ," Cassadee sang, and Rian shivered. God, she was amazing.

" _I'm terrified to speak, but you'd expect that from me. I'm mixed up, I'll be blunt. Now the rain is just washing you out of my hair. And out of my mind!"_

Rian managed to tear his eyes from Cassadee for a second to look at Alex. Alex raised an eyebrow at Rian in question. Rian took another look at Cassadee, sighed and smiled at Alex, nodding eagerly.

" _I'm over you now, I'm at home in the clouds. And towering over your head_!"

A thousand sets of confused eyes turned to Alex when he kept strumming. Strumming and singing.

" _Forgive me, I'm trying to find_ -"

Cassadee cocked an eyebrow at Alex.

" _My calling, I'm calling at night_ -"

A few people in the crowd started giggling, thinking that good old scatterbrained Alex had just screwed up. Too many sleepless nights, too much touring, they figured.

" _I don't mean to be a bother, but have you seen this girl_?"

Rian took a deep breath and pulled the small, navy velvet box from his pocket.

"Rian, what are you doing?" Zack asked him as he stepped out from sidestage. He brushed it off, creeping forward. He looked out to the crowd, at the kids that were just starting to notice him and held a finger in front of his mouth, hoping they'd get the hint and not start screaming. Thankfully, most of them didn't.

" _She's been runnin' through my dreams, and it's driving me crazy, it seems_ -"

Rian walked up behind Cassadee and lightly tapped her shoulder. She turned and stared at him in confusion.

He dropped down to one knee and opened the box in his hand, the stunning diamond sparking in the stage lights.

Cassadee's jaw dropped and her hands flew to her mouth, and every kid in the room screamed at the top of their lungs.

"I'm gonna ask her to marry me," Rian finished, soft and unsure, since he very obviously was not a singer. Most of the kids couldn't hear him, but Cassadee could, and that was all that mattered.

Alex was looming from behind Cassadee, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He hopped off his stool and stuck his microphone in Rian's face.

"Cassadee Blake Pope, you have made these last four years the most amazing of my entire life. You're everything I could've ever wanted and a million times more amazing than I could've ever dreamed. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Cassadee couldn't speak through her tears. Instead, she just nodded and held her hand out to Rian.

For the first time all night, Rian could breathe. He had been terrified of the possibility that she could've said 'no', but the thought of going without her for even another day was even worse.

He took the shimmering ring from the box and slipped it on her finger, and as soon as he stood, he pulled her into the tightest hug he could manage.

The entire venue erupted in applause as the rest of the band, the crew and all the supporting acts rushed the stage to congratulate the two. Jenna headed immediately for Cassadee to hug her and drool over her rock, while Jack and Zack trapped Rian in a bear hug.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jack asked.

Rian scoffed. "You can't keep a secret!" He joked, though it was mostly true. The only person he'd let in on it was Alex, and he played his part flawlessly.

Rian found him in the chaos and hugged him.

"Thanks, Alex. You did great."

"Yeah, but," Alex said, tossing an arm around Rian's shoulders and turning him in Cassadee's direction, "You did better," He smirked.

Rian ran over and hugged Cassadee from behind, picking her up and spinning her around as she giggled.

When he set her down, she turned and kissed her new fiance fiercely.

"Well, Mr. Dawson," She joked, "I must say, you put on a hell of a show."

"Told you it was all for you," Rian grinned, "Future Mrs. Dawson."

Cassadee smiled so wide it hurt her cheeks. 

"You know," She said, nodding softly, "I think it might be my favorite song, too."

She threw her arms around Rian and hugged him again as the crowd cheered behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> If Rian doesn't propose like this in real life, I will be extremely upset with him.


End file.
